Situated in the South Golden Beach, a coastal town of New South Wales of Australia, the Northern Rivers Beach House is a modern home deeply connected to its natural environment.
The architecture by Brisbane based REFRESH*DESIGN studio makes use of cost effective materials in combination with contemporary design, creating an open-plan subtropical house in a temperate climate.
In addition to an expansive open plan living area with kitchen, dining and living areas, Northern Rivers Beach House accommodates three bedrooms. Balcony, wood patio and sliding glass doors ensure plenty of connections between interior and exterior spaces.
The dynamic shape of this modern home gives the house a modern beach house spirit, which is integrated with traditional materials of corrugated metal, fibre cement sheeting and timber elements. Thanks to the choice of materials, the home looks natural with a flashy touch of polished modernism.
The site itself did not come without limitations. Because the area is prone to flooding and the budget low, the team of designers came up with the unconventional concept of a cantilevered structure.
Both ends of the home are overhanging. At quick glance, the entire structure seems to be held up only by a sharp middle point.
“Using steel for the major structural elements, and timber for the secondary structure, a very economical and bridge-like architecture was created to inspire a soaring visual effect.
Working with a small budget required the use of innovative or unconventional details to achieve the desired design outcome,” the architects explain.
Everything in this house is designed with sustainability in mind. Therefore the interior spaces are designed to make use of natural ventilation, passive solar design and smart use of space.
In the words of the Northern Rivers Regional Award Jury Statement for the Australian Institute of Architects 2015.
“This understated elevated residence blends well with its sub-tropical coastal landscape. It exhibits architectural and structural resolution in an innovative way, within a clear functional planning framework. The design management process with this project was well conveyed, and a cost effective exemplar for this constrained site was achieved. The realisation of Stage 2 with its’ informed site planning, will contribute well to this evolving coastal community.”
